The two had already been walking for over half a day.

That’s right, walking.

Although immortal cultivators emphasized peace of mind the most, Su Wan’er could no longer stand this sluggish pace.

Her injuries had mostly healed, and her Cultivation Base had even broken through to the Late Foundation Establishment stage. The Heaven-Grade Water Spiritual Root within her body was autonomously absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at all times, making her feel completely full of power.

Logically speaking, with her current state, flying on a sword to go anywhere wouldn’t be a problem.

Even if she couldn’t achieve true flight like the Seniors at the Golden Core Stage, her speed would still be a hundred or even a thousand times faster than their current pace.

But the Senior insisted on walking.

And he wasn’t even walking fast; he strolled leisurely, as if admiring the scenery.

Su Wan’er followed behind Lai Li’an. Looking at his unhurried back, it felt like a fire was burning in her heart.

She bit her lip and finally couldn’t help but speak up.

“Senior,” Su Wan’er tried to keep her attitude as gentle as possible, “why don’t we fly? That way, we could get anywhere much faster.”

Lai Li’an’s footsteps paused slightly.

He wanted to fly! But he didn’t know how!

Let alone flying on a sword, he didn’t even know the most basic Air-Walking Technique.

The system didn’t teach him, either. He could feel the majestic Spiritual Power in his Dantian, but he had absolutely no idea how to use it!

Lai Li’an’s mind raced, but his face remained impassive.

He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and looked at Su Wan’er with a calm gaze.

“Fly?”

His tone was indifferent, carrying a trace of condescending scrutiny.

“Do you think this Venerable is rushing on a journey?”

Lai Li’an shook his head, looking at her as if she were a dense child.

“This Venerable has wandered the world for over 300 years and has never traveled by flying.”

Su Wan’er blinked, somewhat puzzled. “Why?”

“Because,” Lai Li’an extended a finger, tapped his own head, and then pointed at the dirt beneath his feet, “the most taboo thing for a cultivator is to forget where they came from.”

He crouched down, casually picked up a stone from the roadside, and weighed it in his hand.

“Look at this stone.”

Su Wan’er leaned closer, staring earnestly at the ordinary stone, trying to discover some profound mystery within it.

“How many years it has lain on this road, no one knows. Through wind and sun, crushed by carriages and trampled by horses, it remains right here, unmoving and unwavering.”

Lai Li’an placed the stone back in its original spot and stood up.

“Cultivators are the same. No matter how high they fly, they must eventually land. No matter how fast they walk, they must eventually stop. If one blindly pursues speed, they will instead miss the scenery along the way, miss the dirt beneath their feet, and miss those subtle truths between heaven and earth.”

He glanced at Su Wan’er, his tone becoming profoundly meaningful:

“Cultivation is not only about cultivating techniques, but even more so about cultivating the heart. If the heart is not calm, no matter how fast you fly, you are nothing but a headless fly.”

Su Wan’er froze. She lowered her head and looked at the winding mountain path beneath her feet, looking at the wild grass, crushed stones, and ants by the roadside, and suddenly felt that these things were different from how she had seen them before.

In the past, she always felt that walking was a waste of time. Why walk when you can fly? Why be slow when you can be fast?

But Senior’s words were like a basin of cold water poured over her head.

No matter how high you fly, you eventually have to land; no matter how fast you move, you eventually have to stop.

“Senior’s reprimand is right,” Su Wan’er bowed respectfully. “This junior was too impatient.”

Lai Li’an nodded, turned around, and continued walking forward.

He walked neither fast nor slow, every step planted firmly, as if he were measuring the length of the road.

His gray robes fluttered gently in the breeze, his back as composed as a painting.

Looking at that figure, the trace of doubt that had just arisen in Su Wan’er’s heart was suppressed once again.

Senior makes sense. How could a supreme expert like him not know how to fly? He merely disdains to do so.

She quickly caught up, no longer urging him, and obediently followed behind Lai Li’an.

Lai Li’an walked in front, appearing calm and breezy on the surface, but in reality, he was panicking like crazy on the inside.

That nonsense about “cultivating the mind along with cultivation” just now was something he had made up on the spot.

All that talk about “wandering the world for 300 years” and “never traveled by flying” were complete fabrications.

As he walked, he cursed himself inwardly:

But what else could he do?

He couldn’t exactly tell Su Wan’er, “Sorry, I can’t fly,” could he?

If he did, his previous performance would be entirely wasted, his Fantasy Points would instantly drop to zero, and the bit of Cultivation Base he had just obtained would revert back to nothing.

So, he could only bite the bullet and keep making things up. The more mysterious it sounded, the better; the more incomprehensible, the better.

After all, when a supreme expert spoke nonsense, it was called a “Zen riddle.”1

At this thought, Lai Li’an straightened his back a bit more.

Su Wan’er followed behind Lai Li’an. Looking at his unhurried back, she pursed her lips again and again.

She remembered what the Senior had said earlier: to cultivate is to cultivate the mind, and one must stay down-to-earth.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him, it was just…

The people from the Blood Lotus Sect could catch up at any moment. She wasn’t afraid of dying; she just didn’t want to implicate the Senior because of her.

After walking a bit further, Su Wan’er finally couldn’t help but speak softly, “Senior, this junior has a matter to ask.”

Lai Li’an did not stop his steps, simply giving a faint “Mm.”

“This junior is not questioning Senior’s decision,” Su Wan’er carefully weighed her words, her tone respectful and sincere. “It is just that… the people of the Blood Lotus Sect might still be pursuing this junior. If they catch up, I worry that my low Cultivation Base will drag Senior down. I wonder if Senior could tell me… how this junior should cooperate?”

After speaking, she lowered her head slightly, not daring to look directly into Lai Li’an’s eyes.

Lai Li’an paused in his steps. He turned his head to glance at Su Wan’er, feeling a slight sense of relief in his heart.

This girl, at least she wasn’t trying to urge him to fly.

“You are worried about the pursuers?”

“Yes,” Su Wan’er nodded honestly. “This junior knows that Senior possesses vast divine abilities, but if the enemies keep coming endlessly, this junior does not want to become Senior’s burden.”

Lai Li’an turned around and stood with his hands behind his back. His gaze passed over the top of Su Wan’er’s head, looking toward the rolling mountains in the distance.

“The fact that you can think this way shows that you are not a foolish person,” he said slowly. “However, you are wrong about one thing.”

Su Wan’er was taken aback: “What?”

“Do you think this Venerable walks slowly because this Venerable is not in a hurry?”

Su Wan’er didn’t speak, but her eyes clearly said, “Is that not the case?”

Lai Li’an gently shook his head, a small curve forming at the corners of his lips.

“This Venerable walks slowly because this Venerable is waiting for someone.”

“Waiting for someone? Waiting for who?”

“The people hunting you.”

Su Wan’er’s expression instantly changed.

Looking at her reaction, Lai Li’an remained as calm as the clouds and light as the breeze: “Did you think the Blood Lotus Sect would let this go? Yin Wushe is dead, and the people behind him won’t just drop the matter. Rather than having them watch from the shadows, it’s better to give them a chance to deliver themselves to us.”

He turned around and continued walking forward, his voice drifting back: “This Venerable does not like trouble, so this Venerable will wait for trouble to come and solve it all at once.”

Su Wan’er stood frozen in place, taking a long while to recover her wits.

So that was it. Senior was not unhurried, but was deliberately slowing down to draw the snake out of its hole.

She had actually been worried that she would be a burden to Senior… In reality, Senior had already calculated everything perfectly.

Thinking of this, a wave of shame welled up in Su Wan’er’s heart, but more than that, she felt reassured.

Senior’s actions indeed had their reasons.

“This junior understands.” She quickened her pace to catch up, her tone firm. “Rest assured, Senior, no matter what happens, this junior will absolutely not act on her own and will follow all of Senior’s arrangements.”

Lai Li’an waved his hand without looking back. “Mm, keep up.”

His pace remained unhurried, his gray robes fluttering gently in the mountain breeze. Following behind him, the anxiety in Su Wan’er’s heart unknowingly dissipated by more than half.

Looking at that calm silhouette ahead of her, she suddenly felt that as long as she followed this person, even if the sky were to fall, there would be nothing to fear.

After walking for a while longer, the outline of a small town could be faintly seen in the distance, with cooking smoke curling up into the air.

Lai Li’an’s stomach growled right on cue.

His expression did not change as he continued walking toward the town without pausing his steps.

“We will rest here for the night,” he said.

“Yes, Senior,” Su Wan’er replied obediently, the corners of her mouth subconsciously curving into a faint smile.

The figures of the two gradually merged into the afterglow of the setting sun.